STK

By vnahmad

Created 04/14/2010 - 08:20

Two stars for SoBe's latest temple of sexy steak...

Funny enough for a place named STK (that’s pronounced es-tee-kay, BTW), the best things going on here have nothing to do with meat. This despite a poster of a well-muscled model in red stilettos holding a bloody carcass in one hand and a cleaver in the other with the words "Not your daddy’s steakhouse." The promo is prophetic in a way: STK is thick with more mini-skirted girls than I’ve seen at cheerleading competitions. I guess it's no surprise they've figured out that steakhouses have more single guys per square inch than any venue outside a boxing match. If nothing else, STK knows its demographic. Though STK makes much of the claim that it's not old-fashioned, the menu is full of items -- beef tartare, iceberg salad, shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell and all manor of beef -- that your daddy’s steak house would most definitely serve. And the cooking, while clearly competent, relies heavily on butter and salt for flavor.

Ambiance: The soundtrack blasts the dressed-up crowd of 30- and 40-somethings back to the '80s with Sting, David Bowie, The Outfield and Gary Numan. (Remember "Here in My Car''?) More nightclub than restaurant, the gorgeous double-decker interior glows with highly glossed wood tables, plush white and gray leather chairs, strategically placed pin lights and lots of shimmery black paint and mirrors.

What Worked

A cast-iron skillet full of steaming popovers glistening with herbed butter